Notes, musings, and observations from the New England Patriots’ 24-3 loss to the New York Jets.
I, like most people in the country, watched last night’s game between the New England Patriots and New York Jets on the couch. I was comfortable and safe and the most running I had to do was to the bathroom during the commercial break so I didn’t miss anything.
And I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck this morning. I can’t even imagine how Jacoby Brissett feels today.
1. Before I get into these Fan Notes in earnest, I think it will be helpful for us all to make a few harsh admissions. It’s OK, we’re all friends here. This is a place of healing.
2. First up, we should all admit that, in spite of ourselves, that Week 1 Bengals game created some unrealistic expectations for the 2024 Patriots. We all said the right things, like “they’ll still likely only win 4 or 5 games this season” and “Week 1 really doesn’t mean anything,” but deep down we were all thinking that maybe New England would surprise some people this year. A close OT loss the following week didn’t do a whole lot to dampen those thoughts either, as that was a very winnable game and they were basically a blocked field goal away from, being 2-0. So, that’s on us.
3. Second, we should all admit that we were way more disappointed in Drake Maye’s 2024 debut than any of us have any right to be. We thought the final score would be 24-10 after Maye engineered a beautiful scoring drive that gave us hope and put any discussions about who would start at QB the rest of the year to rest. But Maye performed exactly as can be expected coming in as a rookie into this current offense, and regardless of who is under center — just as we’ve all been saying since April but chose to semi-abandon since earlier this month – we’re in for a long season.
OK, feel any better?
Yeah, me neither.
4. This was a game in which the youth and inexperience of this team, at every level from coaches on down, was on full display for the world to see, Thursday Night Football requires an immediate turnaround with no rest, with a new gameplan and new schemes and a short memory of the week before. And the New England Patriots looked completely unprepared to play a football game last night, by every possible metric. From getting outmuscled at the line to an inability to make any adjustments to getting gassed early to poor tackling to stupid mental errors and penalties to poor playcalling, there was just nothing I saw that made me think that this last week of preparation was handled well.
5. And that’s OK, to be honest; new head coach, new staff, new approach… there are going to be growing pains. It’s all about what you do going forward.
6. And “going forward” is something I’m hoping that the offensive line remembers how to do, as if they won a single snap at the line of scrimmage, I missed it. Just bullied and slapped around from whistle to whistle.
7. And you want to tell yourself that the injuries played a big part. And it’s true; they did. The entire left side of the line is in shambles. But it’s also lack of experience, lack of talent, and lack of depth.
8. In other words, how dare this offensive line play exactly as poorly as we all thought they would all offseason?
9. What really worries me about this line, though? I’m starting to think that Michael Onwenu just isn’t cut out for life at right tackle. Tackle requires a certain level of speed and lateral quickness that Onwenu just isn’t showing right now. I’m going to get myself through the season week day by telling myself that Onwenu has to dedicate himself to supporting Layden Robinson so much that his own duties (heh. Duty) are suffering as a result. Because if that’s not the case, the Patriots have zero tackles on either side of the line and too many serviceable guards.
10. We also need to come to grips with the fact that David Andrews is past his prime. He’s still a quality center, but his best days are behind him, and that’s nobody’s fault but Father Time’s.
11. Why the Jets didn’t blitz on every down is beyond me. I don’t think a single blitz was picked up all night. Then again, if you’re getting that much pressure rushing just three or four, I guess you don’t need to blitz all the time.
12. I want to say that we’ve all seen the low point of this O-line for the season on the end-of-half Hail Mary where the Jets only rushed three, the Patriots had five linemen in protection, and they still managed to hit Brissett as he threw. I want to say that’s the low point. I so, so badly want to say that.
13. If I’m Jacoby Brissett this morning, I’m coming through every single footnote of my contract to see what the language is regarding hazard pay.
14. It’s not all on the line; Brissett missed some gimmes. A mid-range crosser to Austin Hooper comes to mind, as does an out route to Polk that he put in the dirt. But this team simply has no real weapons and there’s no reason for any defense to worry about a single Patriot whose primary job is to catch passes. I think a few receivers on this team have a bright future ahead of them, but limited receiving skills + terrible offensive line + journeyman QB with a limited ceiling = whatever the hell we’re getting now.
15. What it ultimately comes down to is this: The 2024 Patriots are a very limited team. If they find themselves in a scenario where they’re allowed to control the game and play perfect football and their opponent makes some mistakes, they can win the game (see Bengals). If they’re allowed to control the game and play near-perfect football and their opponent doesn’t make any mistakes, they have a chance to win the game (see Seahawks). If they can’t control the game and have to deviate from the plan in any way, it’s going to be a rough night.
16. Not to take anything away from the Jets. Last night, Aaron Rodgers looked better than he has since maybe 2021. The man was just dialed in and unfathomably accurate. I counted six times where he rolled out to his right, the Patriots had to break contain, and he hit a receiver in stride for a big gain. You could tell that last night’s game meant something to him, and you have to tip your cap to a future Hall of Famer.
17. Because of that, I don’t want to knock the defense too much, as they were in an impossible situation. Coming off a tough overtime game three days ago, they were on the field for over 40 minutes. No Patriots offensive drive lasted longer than four minutes and 36 seconds. They were up against a quarterback who was able to diagnose the coverage pre-snap and audible into the correct play every single time (which goes back to my first point about not being prepared). And the fact that they only gave up three touchdowns is actually pretty damn impressive.
18. That said… this game may legit have been a 10-3 loss if the plays in which a Patriot made contact with a Jet behind the line of scrimmage turned into a tackle for loss as opposed to a whiffed hit and a seven-yard gain. Or had players not taken three steps and shoulder-charged the quarterback. Or had guys opted not to bodyslam the runner.
19. One glaring hole in the defense, though, is the complete lack of a true coverage safety. I love me some Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers, but their playing styles are somewhat similar and we don’t have a Devin McCourty back there anymore to patrol the deep third of the field. It forces the Patriots to be a little more conservative with their positional groupings.
20. I’ll also say that, with possibly any other quarterback to ever play the game, that Garrett Wilson TD is a 97-yard pick-six by Christian Gonzalez. He read the play perfectly and jumped the route with excellent timing. Aaron Rodgers is just an all-time great and, in my opinion, the best ball-placement quarterback to ever do it.
21. Just to be clear, though — a LOT more goes into being the GOAT than being able to place a football wherever you want. You need to take other things into consideration. Things like, among many other elements, not being a total and utter douche.
22. I think that a Drake Maye Week 5 appearance is more than possible. I see no reason for his first game ever as a pro to be on the road against one of the best teams in the NFC, but Week 5 sees them at home against the Tua-less Dolphins, which is suddenly looking like a much better matchup.
23. I will also, say, though: if you’re that worried about a rookie being shaken or his confidence getting rattled because he gets ruined by a good defense, you shouldn’t have drafted him 3rd overall. Mental toughness was a question for Mac Jones, so we don’t need more of that in this system.
24. I honestly think it’s because they want to keep Maye safe. Jacoby Brissett looked like a beaten man, by every metric of the term, as he limped into the locker room last night with a towel over his head.
25. There were for sure a few positives in this one. The play of the game, from a Patriots perspective, at least, was a 15-yard completion from Maye to Douglas on 4th-and-10 where Maye looked off the safeties and fired an absolute bullet over the middle to set up a 1st-and-goal at the 7. So what if Maye was sacked again on the very play? That was a great read and throw. You get a few of those from the rookie each game, and you build on that.
26. We saw a deep shot to Tyquan Thornton. So what if it was his only attempt and it fell incomplete? He drew the DPI call.
27. Bryce Baringer is once again making his case for back-to-back Patriots MVP. So what if he’s the punter?
28. But here’s the real positive from this game: this loss represents an excellent opportunity to test out the mental toughness of this squad and coaching staff. In years past, the Patriots would take a loss like this and use it as fuel to turn inward, do some soul-searching, come together as a team, and come out way stronger for it. You think about games like that 31-0 beatdown by the Bills in Week 1 of the 2003 season or that horrible MNF loss to Kansas City in 2014 or those back-to-back December losses in 2018 and how that galvanized the team, and you hope there’s at least some of that going on over the next few days. They have a mini-bye now, which represents a prime opportunity to do a deep dive into team fortitude.
29. Not that I’m expecting a win on Sunday. But I’d like to see them at least hang for a little while before it all goes to hell.
30. And on a personal level, I’m quite happy to be done watching Thursday Night Football for the rest of the year. We’ve also just watched our last Patriots primetime game of 2024, which is a win for me.
31. I suppose the NFL could flex the Week 17 or 18 game against the Chargers and Bills into primetime… but for some reason, I just don’t see it.
All the way across the country for a game against the best team in the NFC up next. Should be a real hoot.